The Carriage Wine & Market, Dauphin Island

On Dauphin Island, a quiet stretch of Bienville Blvd near the Gulf side of the island is home to The Carriage Wine & Market, a wine bar, bistro, and retail market rolled into one storefront. It is the second location for a small Alabama-based business whose original shop sits in Florence, in the northern part of the state, and the Dauphin Island outpost was built to serve the island’s year-round residents and its steady stream of beach visitors alike.

The heart of the business is its wine list, which the staff describes as hand-selected and ever-evolving rather than fixed to a single set of labels. Bottles range from crisp whites suited to a hot Gulf Coast afternoon to fuller-bodied reds, and the shop’s retail side lets customers take a bottle home rather than only ordering it by the glass. Buying six or more bottles earns a ten percent discount, a detail aimed more at the local wine drinker restocking a home cellar than the passing tourist.

Food is handled by executive chef Suzanne Phillips, who builds a menu of seasonal plates around Gulf Coast ingredients. Local oysters and other Gulf seafood appear regularly, alongside comfort food specials, cheese boards, and charcuterie meant for sharing. The kitchen leans toward small plates and bites that pair naturally with a glass of wine or a cocktail, rather than a heavy sit-down dinner menu, which fits the bar’s role as both a stop for a quick drink and a longer evening out.

Behind the bar, the drink list goes beyond wine. Craft cocktails and classic martinis are made to order, and the bar also pours a rotating selection of craft beer for guests who want something other than wine. Non-drinkers are not an afterthought either; the menu includes mocktails built with the same care as the cocktails next to them.

The physical space is split between a dining room, a bar, and a covered patio, and the patio is the draw for many regulars. From under its roof, guests can look out toward the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Mississippi Sound on the other, a rare vantage point for a business that is not a beachfront restaurant in the traditional sense. The covered setup means the patio stays usable even when the island’s weather turns, which matters on a barrier island where afternoon storms are common in summer.

Because the Dauphin Island shop is also a market, it functions a little differently than a typical bar. Guests can browse gourmet and specialty food items alongside the wine selection, making it a reasonable stop for picking up something for a rental house kitchen as much as a place to sit down for a drink. That dual identity, half bar and half market, is part of what distinguishes it from the island’s other food and drink options.

The Dauphin Island location is open Tuesday through Sunday, with earlier closing times early in the week and later hours Thursday through Saturday, and it is closed entirely on Mondays. That schedule sets it apart from restaurants that stay open seven days a week during the tourist season, and it is worth checking hours before a visit, especially outside of peak summer months.

For an island with a small year-round population, having a dedicated wine bar and market is somewhat unusual, and The Carriage fills a niche that otherwise would not exist on Dauphin Island. Whether the goal is a glass of wine on the patio, a cocktail at the bar, or a bottle to bring back to a rental house, the business offers an option that sits apart from the seafood shacks and casual grills that make up most of the island’s dining scene.